This exhibition showcases artistic masterpieces of the highest quality produced by Farmers’ Museum’s blacksmiths over the past two decades.

A European-inspired coffer is a masterpiece of intricacy and beauty. Produced over the course of 25 years with at least 8,000 hours of handwork, the coffer was inspired by Medieval and Renaissance European coffers used to hold and protect precious items and important documents. It combines fine forging and steel carving with gold and silver inlay.

A single forging technique can yield a remarkable diversity of works. The handle of a fork, inspired by medieval examples in Le Secq de Tournelles Museum in Rouen, France, was constructed in much the same manner as a gun barrel. The smith formed the flattened steel into a cylinder and then welded it at the forge. The lattice-like pattern was then handcarved to make a hollow form. The fork was finished using whitesmithing techniques, including filing and polishing.

A beautiful Scottish pistol, modeled on pistols made in the 1740s, was made entirely by hand, including forming the stock, forge-welding the barrel, creating the flintlock mechanism, and performing the engraving. The process required recreating 18th century techniques and tools through historical research and experimentation. The pistol project, which spanned many years at The Farmers’ Museum, was inspired by the surviving pistols of British Marine Major John Pitcairn, who commanded the troops that launched the raids on Lexington and Concord, beginning the American Revolution.

Another must-see is a pipe tomahawk that features filing and chisel ornamentation and an ash handle ornamented with handmade brass tacks and cast-in-place pewter arrows and animals.

Also made by a Farmers’ Museum blacksmith, a finely worked balance beam scale is forged from steel, pierced, then filed in the style of an 18th century European balance beam. The parts were made to tight tolerances using hand production methods, allowing the scale to achieve an accuracy equivalent to modern factory scales.